10 Best 3D Movies on Blu-Ray to Watch at Home

Less-than-optimum projection setups and sometimes questionable movie quality are making the future of seeing 3D movies in the theater an uncertain one (though we're admittedly excited to see Titanic 3D, which hits theaters today). But with 3D home theaters, you can control the experience by buying the right equipment. That just leaves the question of what to watch. Although the choices for the stereoscopic enthusiasts seem frustratingly limited for the moment, these 10 films could make the solid beginnings of a 3D Blu-ray library.

Less-than-optimum projection setups and sometimes questionable movie quality are making the future of seeing 3D movies in the theater an uncertain one (though we're admittedly excited to see Titanic 3D, which hits theaters today). But with 3D home theaters, you can control the experience by buying the right equipment. That just leaves the question of what to watch. Although the choices for the stereoscopic enthusiasts seem frustratingly limited for the moment, these 10 films could make the solid beginnings of a 3D Blu-ray library.

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1Avatar

Writer/director/all-around-visionary James Cameron was the first major contemporary filmmaker to throw down the new 3D gauntlet, and after a run of media nay-saying that had an uncanny resemblance to the skepticism that greeted Titanic, he pulled another never-seen-anything-like-it-before cinematic rabbit out of his hat with Avatar. Unlike a lot of 3D pictures, the 2-hour 40-minute epic doesn't strain the eyes because Cameron's sense of stereoscopic design is so thoroughly nuanced. Rather than superficial coming-at-you effects, Avatar uses depth to suck you into its sci-fi world.

2Hugo

Hugo's world is 1930s Paris, as conjured by Martin Scorsese. The cinephile director is a big fan of 1950s-style 3D, which was often heavy on poke-you-in-the-eye stuff, but also produced gems such as Hitchcock's rich use of the format in Dial M for Murder (which deserves its own 3D Blu-ray). The 3D in Hugo enhances Scorsese's trademark tracking shots, and some of the more unexpected effects—such as the way a gleam of sunlight illuminates a floating dust mote in the frame—are startling.

3A Very 3D Harold and Kumar Christmas

"3D... isn't that kind of played out?" a yuppie-fied Harold (John Cho) asks of a subordinate early on in the film. This is one of the litany of self-referential jokes in this unstoppably vulgar picture, which also showcases all manner of inappropriate and unpleasant things, including raw eggs and a variety of controlled substances, flying into the lens in glorious and obvious stereoscopic splendor. A Very 3D Harold and Kumar Christmas isn't family fare and it certainly isn't subtle. But not all 3D cinema is high art, and this film is far cleverer than you might think.

4Drive Angry

Speaking of movies that aren't big on subtlety: This Nicolas Cage action chase movie is fully aware of how dumb it is; it wears its B-movie colors with pride and is full of in-your-face 3D (older readers may well be reminded of a '70s attempt to revive 3D in the grindhouse, Comin' at Ya!). The car chases and Satanic cults provide ample opportunity for spectroscopic flame and skull effects. Again, though, if you're looking for high art or something to watch with the kids, look elsewhere. Such as...

5Tangled

This surprisingly charming modern fairy tale has some of the most beautiful artwork seen in a Disney feature since the heyday of the studio. Disney's innovative multiplaned cameras gave quasi-stereoscopic effects to classic pictures such as Bambi back in the day, and that work informs the "real" 3D here. The floating lantern sequence near the film's climax is particularly breathtaking.

6A Christmas Carol

Director Robert Zemeckis's early work in 3D motion-capture animation seemed to split the difference between goofy and creepy. But Zemeckis understands the technology and how it works best with 3D effects, and with this Jim-Carrey-starring adaptation of the Dickens chestnut, he gets the scarifying, exhilarating effects he wants with very little viewer alienation. This picture gets high marks for depth in dark settings, of which there are many, this being a depiction of a long dark night of the soul.

This menacing Henry Selick movie wasn't released in 3D back in 1993. But the multiplane camera work on this stop-motion delight made it an in-depth experience, and the digital rejiggering of the picture for 3D Blu-ray works without overdoing it. The film abounds with wonderful detail and fantastic colors. And if you're a fan, also check out the 3D Blu-ray of 2009's Coraline, which he designed and shot in 3D. From where we sit, though, it's not quite as engaging a movie.

9Tron: Legacy

This three-decades-after sequel isn't as briskly enjoyable as the original. But as a showcase for state-of-the-art 3D design and moviemaking, it's impressive. (And as we recall, 1982's Tron was a demo film for then-inchoate computerized special effects.) There's an impressive solidity to the weird, neon-lit world of Tron: Legacy's computerized reality, and the action effects are all the more striking in this chromatically limited environment.

10Open Season

In the ranks of nostalgic audiophiles, you could find a number of people who'd argue that the best-sounding record ever put on wax was the original soundtrack for the 1967 James Bond send-up Casino Royale. Now that's a great score, featuring the likes of Burt Bacharach, Dusty Springfield, and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. Yet one can't help but feel: Shouldn't the best-sounding record have been a more ennobling piece of music?

There's a similar minor irony at work today when it comes to the best-looking 3D Blu-ray disc. On 3D forums far and wide, there are sentiments echoing this review we found on Blu-ray.com: "Hands down, Open Season is the current reference standard for Blu-ray 3D discs... for what is 86 minutes of 3D bliss that delivers constant third dimension goodness." All that from a computer-animated film featuring animals voiced by Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher.

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